Tbaveling scbeen foe suction-nozzles



M. SWINTEK. TRAVELING SCREEN m sucno'u NOZZLES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, I920- Patented Oct. 25,1921,

UNITED STATES M AR'I'IN SWINTEK, OF'EDDYVILLE, IOWA.

TRAVELING SCREEN FOR SUCTION-NOZZLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 25, 1921..

Application filed February 28, 1920. Serial No. 361,956.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN SWINTEK, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and resident of Eddyville, WVapello county, Iowa, have inventeda new and useful Traveling Screen for Suction-Nozzles, of which thefollowing is a specification.

. The object of thisinvention is to provide means 'for screening theentrance to a nozzle employed in sand-pumping apparatus or dredges andremoving large objects such as stones from said nozzle, which mightotherwise clog the nozzle or pipes.

A further object of this invention is to provide a traveling screentraversing the mouth of a suction nozzle, such as is used insand-pumping apparatus or dredges.

A further object of this invention is to provide a traveling screentraversing the mouth of a suction nozzle, and providing means on saidscreen for collecting and conveymg large ob ects, such as stone,wh1chotherwise would obstruct or enter said nozzle.

My invention consists in the'construction, arrangement and combinationof elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the claims andillustrated by the accompanying drawing,in which Figure 1 is a'plan andFig. 2 a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating my improvement.Fig. 3 is a cross section on the indicated line 3-3 of Fig. 2, on anenlarged scale, the traveling screen being removed. Fig. 4- is a detailend elevation showing a screen roller and shaft on an enlarged scale.Fig. 5 is a plan of the elements shown in .Fig. 4. Figs. 6 and 7 areside elevations, on

an enlarged scale, of elements employed in the screen. I I v In theconstruction of the device as shown the numerals 10, 11' designatesections of a supply pipe leading to a pump (not shown) which preferablyare made of metal and connected by an ofl'set section 12, the .section11 terminating in a suction nozzle 13. This supply pipe and nozzle areof any suitable construction, except as hereinafter set forth and aflexible section 12 in the pipe 12 maybe made of metal joints pivotallyconnected or ofhose including rubber. The flexibility is providedprimarily to per- 'mit the nozzle 13 to be raised and lowered in a bodyof water and relative to the sand or gravel bed thereof, such as awater-containing pit, pond, lake, beach or river where sand-pumpingplants or dredges are operated. The lateral oflset section 12 isprovided primarily to accommodate the screen and its mechanismhereinafter set forth. The nozzle 13 preferably is formed with arectangular downwardly-opening mouth having its least dimension in ahorizontal plane or transversely; and said nozzle is formed withintegral wings 14, 15 flaring outwardly and extending forwardly anddownwardly therefrom and terminating in curved outer margins formingrunners adapted to engage and travel in the sand or gravel bedassociated with the apparatus in use. Clamps 16, 17 shown generally inFig. 2, are mounted on and fixed to the section 11 of the supply pipe.Each clamp (Fig. 3) is formed of two members, substantially alike, 18,19 and each member has a central concaved portion 20 adapted to embraceand be clamped to the section 11 and arms at right angles to thehorizontal diameter of said section, the arms being designated by thenumerals 21, 22. Angle bars 23, 2 1 are mounted on and connectextremities of the arms 21, and channel bars 25, 26 are mounted on andconnect the extremities of the arms 22. The channelbars also extendforwardly and rearwardly from the clamps and are curved at theirextremities, the forward curved portions thereof extending aroundand onopposite sides of the mouth of the nozzle 13 and in close proximity toand between the wings 14, 15; The rearward curved portions of thechannel bars 25, 26 extend around a shaft 27 mounted in suitablebearings at right angles to the section 12 of the pipe and at the rearof the section 12. End portions of the angle bars, 23, 24 connect andaline with end portions of the channel bars thus making substantiallycontinuous tracks on opposite side of the section 11 and surrounding thesection 12 of the pipe. Sprocket wheels 28, preferably two in number aremounted side by side on and fixed to the shaft 27, and a flexiblescreen, indicated generally by the numeral 29, is mounted in the tracksabove described, extends around, and is driven by said sprocket wheels.The flexible screen is built up of links, pins, rollers and hooks and,in its entirety, constitutes a, chain belt adapted to be driven by thesprocket wheels, guided and supported by the tracks and traversing themouth of the nozzle 13. The links 30 composing a considerable part ofthe screen are arranged alternately and pivoted at their ends on pins orshafts 31 and rollers 32, each formed with an annular recess 33 in itsouter end, arepivoted on outer ends of said pins or shafts. The rollers32 are held on the pins or shafts 31 by keys 34, holes 35 being providedin the rollers to facilitate placing and removing said keys, and saidrollers confine the links 30 in proper relations. Some of the links,sometimes termed blocks, (see 35 in Fig. 7) are formed with out wardlyextending hooks 36. The shaft 27 preferably is driven by gearing 37 37at relatively slow speed from a shaft 38, the latter shaft being drivenby a prime mover not shown, preferably by a belt 39. That portion of thescreen 29 traversing the outer end of section 11 and nozzle 13 iscarried entirely by the tracks formed by the angle bars 23, 24 andchannel bars 25, 26 with their curved portions carried by the wings 14,15.

In practical use the nozzle and forward portions of the tracks may bemoved vertically in the usual way and the rollers 32 running in saidtracks guide and direct the flexible screen or chain belt around andover the mouth of said nozzle. The hooks 36 successively stir andagitate the sand or gravel bed and facilitate entrance to the sandnozzle and pipe. At the same time the traveling screen prevents entranceto the pipe and nozzle of any objects too large to pass through thespaces of the screen, such as stones, sticks and lumps of clay, and thehooks engage and remove said large objects away from the nozzle. Thehooks gather or accumulate some of the large objects and carry themupward and rearward away from the nozzle and deposit some of them atleast at the rear of the shaft 27. Thus is provision made for screeningthe entrance of the nozzle and removing obstructions therefrom, at thesame time permitting sand, gravel and water to enter the nozzle and pipeand be transported by the pump as desired.

Portions of the channel bars 25, 26 are cut away in the bottoms thereofin advance of the shaft 27 and portions are turned downwardly to formcurved approaches 47, 48 at opposite ends of the openings. Thusprovision is ,made for permitting portions of the screen to drop throughleave and attain the lower track when said screen stretches in use, thuscompensating for or taking care of slack formed therein.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a suction nozzle adapted to be raised andlowered and formed with wings having curved outer margins beyond themouth of said nozzle, track members being carried by inner faces of saidwings around the mouth of said nozzle, of a flexibl screen mounted fortravel longitudinally of said nozzle said screen also being directed fortravel across the mouth of said nozzle and between said wings andsupported in such travel solely by said track members.

2. The combination with a suction nozzle adapted to be raised andlowered and formed with wings havingt curved outer margins beyond themouth of said nozzle, track members being carried by inner faces of saidwings around the mouth of said nozzle, of a flexible screen mounted fortravel longitudinally of said nozzle, said screen also being adapted fortravel across the mouth of said nozzle and between said wings andsupported in such travel solely by said track members, and projectionson said screen extending beyond the mouth of said nozzle and beyond theouter margins of said wings.

Signed at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, this 25thday of February, 1920.

MARTIN SWINTEK.

